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Iranian bid for FIFA tournament takes tension with the Gulf to the soccer pitch

Rivalry between Iran and the Gulf states has spilled on to the soccer pitch with a decision by the Iranian Football Federation to bid for the hosting of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2013 and 2014.

The announcement by world soccer body FIFA that Iran would be bidding followed a declaration by UAE Football Association president Mohamed Khalfan al Rumaithi that his organization is interested in hosting the tournament provided it receives government backing.

The UAE has already won the right to stage the FIFA Under 17 World Cup in 2013. Abu Dhabi hosted the 2009 / 2010 elite club tournament, which features the champions from the six continental federations and the champions of the host nation. Morocco and South Africa are also bidding for the 2013/2014 Club World Cup.

Bids are due by September 30; FIFA is expected to award the tournament on October 21.

The Iranian bid comes amid mounting tension with Gulf states over allegations that the Islamic republic is instigating the mass anti-government protests sweeping the Middle East and North Africa and barely a week after Morocco was invited to join the Saudi-led, six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which the United Arab Emirates is a member.

Saudi officials last month threatened to withdraw their diplomats from Iran if they were not accorded greater protection following anti-Saudi demonstrations in front of the kingdom’s diplomatic missions in Iran.

Iranian police intervened earlier this month during an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League group C match between Iran's Persepolis and Saudi's Al-Ittihad at the Azadi stadium in Tehran.

Some 300 hardliners protested at the stadium against Saudi intervention in Bahrain to quell Shiite Muslim protests in demand of reform.

Soccer tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia first erupted in early March when Saudi immigration authorities demanded the Persepolis team be fingerprinted and iris scanned upon its arrival at Jeddah airport for an Asian championship match against Al Ittihad. The Persepolis team refused what is standard procedure for all visitors to the kingdom, and was held at the airport for eight hours.

The diplomatic sparring and soccer tensions are building blocks of an escalating cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia over Iranian support for its Shiite brethren in Bahrain as well as protests elsewhere in the Arab world and Gulf accusations of Iranian spying in Kuwait and Bahrain with a tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats.

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About Me

James M DorseyWelcome to The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer by James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Soccer in the Middle East and North Africa is played as much on as off the pitch. Stadiums are a symbol of the battle for political freedom; economic opportunity; ethnic, religious and national identity; and gender rights. Alongside the mosque, the stadium was until the Arab revolt erupted in late 2010 the only alternative public space for venting pent-up anger and frustration. It was the training ground in countries like Egypt and Tunisia where militant fans prepared for a day in which their organization and street battle experience would serve them in the showdown with autocratic rulers. Soccer has its own unique thrill – a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between militants and security forces and a struggle for a trophy grander than the FIFA World Cup: the future of a region. This blog explores the role of soccer at a time of transition from autocratic rule to a more open society. It also features James’s daily political comment on the region’s developments. Contact: incoherentblog@gmail.comView my complete profile